Delinter



, lmil '12, 1927;-

J.' E.A REDus' .DELINTER Filed Nov. 2a. 1926's"- l j l l fr/V704? Ud/7n@ Mds Patented Apr.. 12,

arras amas Nr rica ramas is. REDUS, or hampers, TENNESSEE.

' DELINTER.

Application led November 29, 1926. Serial No. 151,312.

' This invention relates to improvements in means and methods for delinting fibre-coveredseed hulls and especially to means and :methodsv for removing, thelintfrom cotton.

1Q meats remaining in the hulls. The'lint thus remaining is `of value provided it is separated fromthehulls and meats, and these separation-fof;,tlieflint from these other maf aan of .hun

single, terniffhulls. has become in itself an.

The means'by which these and dther ob` latter are alsoofvalue-and can be'improved injquality--byjthe removal of the lint. The

terials, whic cause of thezlarge propormeats vare known by the no small moment, and is the operationinwhich `lvmy `machine and 'process 'is used. "By reason of ythefact that all lint of such length as to be worthy the designa.-

tionziiber, has; already been removed before vthe seedl are ground, the lint which it ismy purpose to remove is extremely short and light and well lends itself to removal in'an v upward directionbymeansof ,an upwardly iiowin air. current-andalso by reason of its limite size easily passes through lopenings which are too small for the particles of hull` to passyeven whenthoroughlylbeaten into very small pieces. v y

With these facts in -mindz Among theobjects of the invention, are- (alf-,T01 rovide a method for eiiiciently rernov'fin'g;- lie lint from cotton seed'hulls;

(bl-Tc' provide a fmethodfor lgrinding the-hulls; and, l

fte). To provide an efficient vand economical ,means for carrying outl the methods 1 ber. 'The front 34 of the plate 31 is bent above set out.

jects are "accomplished, and the manner of their accomplishment, willreadily be seen from thefollowing description on reference t theaccompanyig drawings, in which,-

.is a transverse sectlon of the machine. i'

Fig. 2 is ai' side elevation` of the machine.v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section takenfonthe .line III-III of Fig. 1.

Referringnowf to the drawings in which the .various 'parts are indicated yby numerals, the machine .comprises a base made u of end lates and ,11, between, and to w ich, are 0112.6@ front and rear Plates. 1.2 and '13.

Also secured tothe lower portions of end plates 10 and 11, are inclined plates 14 and which form a hopper, which discharges.

into a conveyor box 16 in which is mounted a screw-Hight conveyor'17` which may-be driven in any usual or desired manner. Integral with the ends 10 andll are brackets 18, 19, respectively, which carry bearings 20, 21, in whichfa shaft 22 is journalled. The upper ends 23 of the front 12, and 24 of the rear 13, are turned inward at an angle of approximately degrees with the horizontal. Concentric with the shaft 22 is a ,curved 'plate 25 which is disposed between theA ends 10 and 11 vand may be secured thereto as is desired. Preferably however, each of these ends is provided with an arc- Auate groove 26 concentric with the shaft 22 and the endsof the plate 25 are disposed in this'groove. V27 is a feed-plate also secured between these. two ends and closely abutting the inclined plate 23. Between the lower edge of the plate 27 and the plate 25 is a discharge opening which is covered by ,a lscreen 28 likewise concentric with the shaft 22.

Preferablythe screen 28 and theplate'25 are secured together so that they may be slid into place or removed together. Immediately above and resting on the ends 10 and 11 are upper end plates 29 and 30which may be bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the lower end plates l10 and 11. Disposed between these upper end plates is a cover colnprising a substantially semi-cylindrical late 31. 32 is a lint liuc leading upward rom this plate.

inward to leave a feed-opening 35. 36 is a feed-chute, the lower end' of which is spaced away4 from the part.23 of the front portion of thebase so as to leave a gap 37 therebetween. Secured to the shaft 22 are a plu- Within and' spaced away' from the plate 31, is an arcuate screen rality 0f hubs 38 each'of which hubs has a v cylindrical disP/llange 39 extending therei from.' Betwei :fetch two adjacent flanges are secured sets of`blades or knives 40 each set of blades comprising a number of thinv rectangular metal plates which are pivoted on rods 41. When the shaft 22 is at rest, these blades hang downward but when the shaft is up to speed, centrifugal force causes them to assume a radial position such as .is

shown in the drawings. When in this position, in thc machine, illustrated in these drawings, the lower screen and plate 25 is disposed ordinarily so that the ends of these knives clear the screen about 3,4 of an mch, whereas the top screen is placed closer -so that the knives clear that screen ordinarily about 3/8 of an inch. The shaft 22 is preterably driven by a motor 42 directly connected thereto. This shaft also is prcfcrably directly coupled to an exhaust ian Llei-3. 44 is an exhaust pipe which leads `from the lint flue 32 to the suction side ot the fanfl. 45 is a discharge pipe'leading' from the tan. Preferably the openings in the screen 33 are much smaller than those in the screen 2S. In the machine illustrated thc pertorations in the screen-33 being quite small say Jg inch in diameter while those in the lower screen are 1/8 inch in diameter.

The operation ofthe device is as follows: The machine is brought up to speed empty. Cotton seed hulls with lint attached thereto are fed by gravity, down the chute 36 into proximity to the o enings 35 into the machine, any desired orm of distributer being used to supply the -feed to the chute 36 1n a ,uniform manner and in tlle desired quantity. As the hulls reach the lower "end of the chute, they are drawn into the machine by the current of air, set up, through the opening 35, by the exhaust fan, and are drawn by such suction across the gap 37 between the lower end ofthe chute 36 and the plate 23. Pieces of metal, gravel, or other heavy material which might happen to be in the hulls will be too heavy to be drawn across this opening, and will there- `fore fall through the same rather than enter the machine. The hulls, freed in this manner from the heai'y material pass into the throat 35 and are drawn upward by the current of air toward the discharge pipe 32. While thus held in suspension they are struck by the blades 40 revolving downward across the opening and are therefore torn to pieces, and the lint dislodged therefronn while virtually suspended by the inrushing current ofl air, which carries the dislodged VVlint upward through the screen 33 into the lint chamber and thence tothe lint flue. The hulls are not only broken up but are also torn away from the action" of this current of air by the knives and are carried around by he Vknives past the lower screen `26. While hissing this screen those portions which are I v1teaviest are thrown outward through the "screen whereas the lighter portions, the lint, i" .is drawn upward. Any heavy particles that. l` are carried past the lower screen are carried ,fpast the blank section 25 and are thrown s against the upper screen by the joint yaction,

" of centrifugal force and the suction of the exhaust fan. The openings however, in thisl tscreen are so Small that only the llint can be drawn therethrough and the heavier portions are again carried forward and thrown against the lower screen and such action 1s continued until all the heavier material is thrown through the lower screen and the lighter material drawn through the upper screen. The larger part however of the action of the machine takes place near the throat ofthe machine where the inrushingT current of air oppo'ics the downward movenient ot the knives and the current ot air set up by the rotary movement of the knives.

It will thus be seen that the method, by which I clean the lint from the hulls,'is to subject the hulls with lint attached to down- \\a"d nicrhancal beatingr while they arc suspended by the action ol an upward current ot'- air, whereby the hulls are mechanically broken up and the lint dislodged therefrom and the heavy hulls gravitate, and are car ried, downward and there discharged, while the lighter' lint is drawn upward by the air currents and carried from the machine by such currents;

lt will be understood in the claims that the hulls referred to are the hulls as they come to the machine with lint attached.

It will further be understood that the lint removed and the delinted hulls separated therefrom are both of value, and after their recovery maybe subjectedto such further treatment as may be desired.

It will of course be understood that the drawings herein are for purposes of illustration only, and that I do not wish to conline myself to the exact details herein shown, except in so far as such details may be specifically set out in the claims.

Having thus disclosed the invention, what is claimed, is

1. The method of delinting cotton seed hulls, comprising carryingv them in an up wardly flowing current of air and subject ing them to an oppositely moving abrading action whereby the lint will be abraded therefrom and removed by such air current.

2. The method of delinting cotton seed hulls, comprising drawing them into the path of Aa downwardly moving abrading means by an inwardly and upwardly moving currcntrof air, whereby the lint will he dislodged therefrom and will be constantly upwardly removed and the heavier particles be driven downward and thereby separated from the lint.

3. The method of dclinting cotton seed hulls. comprising drawing them initially into i the downward path of a rotary abrading means by an inwardly and upwardly moving current of air, and/thereafter,subjecting unseparated particles,ftd/aI continued rotary abrading` action in".` thelp'resenice of such ,upward current` whereby" the lint will .be dislodged from the hullsand consta'lnjtl fgnp! wardly removed and the-lieavieifparti-c esi-he from the lint.

.driven downward and thereby separated 4. In a delinter, a rotary abrading means,

a casing surrounding said means, sa'idcasing` having a lateral feed-opening, a hnt opening 'from the top thereof, and a screened opening through the lower portion of said casing a Screen, concentric with said abrading means, spacedaway from the upper portion of said casing, whereby a chamber l1s formed between said screen and said upper portion of said casing, and means for exhaustingai-r from said casing through 'said lint opening.

` 5. In a delinter, rotary abrading means, a casing surrounding said means,` said casing having a lateral feed-opening, a lint openingI from thetop thereof, and a screened opening through the lower portion of said casing;` a\

screen', .concentric with said abradi'ng means, spaced away from the upper portion of said' casing, whereby a chamber isforinedbetween said screen4 and said upper portionoi said casing, means for exhausting` air from said caslng through said lint openlng, and a feed lchute leading toward but spaced away from y saidfeed opening.

6. In a de1intera sha-ft, a plurality oflpivotally mounted knives ycarried thereby,

ling means', spaced away from the upper por tion of said casing, whereby a vchamber 1s fmeims for driving said shaft, a casing sur,- rounding said shaft and knives, said caslng having a lateral feed-opening, a lint opening from the top thereof, and a screened opening-through thelower portion of said casing; a screen concentric with said abrad.

formed between said screen and said upper portion of said casing, a suction fan, and a pipe fromsaidlint opening to said fan.

7. In adelinter, a shaft, a plurality of 4U pivotally mounted knives carried 'thereby,*a

upper portion of said casing. and means for 5o exhausting air from said casing' through said lint opening.

In testimony of the foregoing, I aiiixiny signature. 4

JAMES E. REDUS. 

